Mott Road Elementary School will have a new leader in place for the start of the 2023-24 school year.
At its July 31 meeting, the Fayetteville-Manlius Board of Education approved the appointment of Patrick McNamara as Mott Road’s next principal, effective August 1, 2023.
McNamara currently serves as an assistant principal at F-M High School, a position he has held since July 1, 2019. As McNamara begins transitioning to his new role at Mott Road Elementary, he will attend to his final summer responsibilities at the high school. In an effort to make the switch as seamless as possible, Dr. Mary Coughlin will continue to serve as interim principal at Mott Road Elementary throughout the month of August.
“It has been a career aspiration of mine to serve the students, staff and community of Mott Road. I look forward to working with everyone involved in making Mott Road such a special place for students to learn and grow,” said McNamara.
McNamara is a graduate of LeMoyne College with a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters degree in teaching. He also earned a Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Leadership from the State University of New York at Oswego. He holds New York State certifications as a School District Leader and School Building Leader, as well as a permanent teaching certification in 7-12 English.
Prior to his administrative experience at F-M, McNamara taught English at both the middle and junior high school levels in the North Syracuse Central School District in addition to completing his administrative internship at Roxboro Road Middle School. During his internship, he was asked to serve as a substitute administrator in the different North Syracuse schools including their various elementary buildings.
Mr. McNamara was selected through a rigorous search process that consisted of a screening interview with F-M administration, an interview with various Mott Road Elementary School stakeholders, including parents, faculty and staff members, and a final interview with representatives of the governance team.
“Mr. McNamara was chosen from a very competitive pool of applicants and his experience as an administrator within the school system only helped to enhance his candidacy for the position.” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Craig J. Tice. “Pat brings his knowledge of the Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District to this appointment as both an administrator and as a parent. Since he has worked throughout his career at either the high school, junior high school or middle school level, Pat will certainly offer a K-12 perspective to this new assignment.”
With Mott Road’s principal position filled, the district will next commence a search for a new assistant principal at the high school.